Now, her chores at end, she replaced the last of the supper plates and made up Heron Wing’s bed. Then she walked over and seated herself next to the woman.
“Do you want to tell me the story?”
“About Green Snake?” Heron Wing asked softly.
“I remember something about Smoke Shield’s brother. You and Wide Leaf were talking about him once. Green Snake is that man, isn’t he?”
Heron Wing nodded. “We never even knew if he was alive or not. The night he struck down Smoke Shield, he ran away. No one ever heard of him again. The name Green Snake might have blown away with the wind. He never came back, never sent word.”
Green Snake. He may have been aptly named. The thin, bright green snake of the forest was a special Spirit helper to both the Sky Hand and the Chahta. The delicate little creature was known to be filled with Power, and to harm one was considered the worst of bad luck. Any act against the little green serpent could ruin a man’s Power for the rest of his life.
“I loved him.” Heron Wing glanced at Stone, sleeping in his bed. “He should have been the father of my children.”
Morning Dew sighed. “And now he is reportedly traveling in the company of the Seeker and a Contrary? Coming here? Why?”
Heron Wing shook her head. “I don’t know. Breath Giver help me, I can’t even imagine it.” She turned frantic eyes toward Morning Dew. “For years, I have told myself that he’s dead to me. I have Dreamed of him, hoped that he was with some far-off people, that he had found peace and happiness. It was better than thinking he was dead.” She paused. “More than one person wondered if he had been killed in the fight with Smoke Shield. Even I have often wondered if Smoke Shield hid his body somewhere.”
“Did you ever ask Smoke Shield?”
“Green Snake’s blow had knocked the souls out of his body for four days. They were going to carry him to the charnel house, but he woke up first.” Heron Wing paused. “Years later, I only asked once. At the mere mention of Green Snake’s name, Smoke Shield flew into a rage. He gave me a backhanded slap and told me never to mention him again. Said that if I did, he’d kill me. Then he ripped my clothes off and took me, hard. When he came, he looked into my eyes, telling me at the same time that I was his. And his alone.”
“Too bad that blow to the head didn’t finish him off. It would have saved all of us a difficult time.”
“But why, after all these years, would Green Snake come back now?”
“I don’t know.”
Morning Dew sat silently, staring at the fire. What would this new twist mean? She glanced at Heron Wing, seeing her desperate longing. The woman looked as if someone had wound her guts around a stick and was pulling them from her body.
“This isn’t the time to let your concentration falter, Heron Wing. If you’ll recall, something happened among the Albaamaha. Someone is trying to blame the Chahta for this raid. Red Awl’s widow is missing. This whole country is about to erupt, and Smoke Shield is in the middle of it. You need all of your wits about you. The people need you.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” Heron Wing pinched her eyes shut. “That’s how I got into this mess. The people needed me. The clans needed me. So I married Smoke Shield. I have given everything to the people.” She laughed brittlely. “You know, if Green Snake had just come to me, I would have run off with him. All he needed to do was ask.”
“Perhaps that is why he is coming now? What if he has finally learned that his brother lived?”
“A Trader,” she said softly. “All these years. Do you think he Traded here, camped right down there on the landing, telling no one who he was? He would have been so close. But I never knew. Do you think he ever walked up, saw me from a distance?”
“Maybe.”
She stared down at the bowl she caressed. “If he asked about me, people would have said, ‘That’s Smoke Shield’s wife.’ That would have driven a stake into his heart. Nothing would have hurt him more. That’s why he never came to me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, yes, I do.”
“Were I him, believing I’d killed my brother, I would never have come back.”
Heron Wing looked at her. “I would like to believe that.”
“It makes more sense,” Morning Dew said positively, unsure herself.
“If he does come here, what will I say to him? How can I look him in the eyes?”
“You will do it. And you will do it well.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“No, that’s just the way it is, Heron Wing. No matter what might lie between the two of you, you are a clan leader. Your brother is Hopaye. Your aunt is the Panther Clan chief. You will be who you must be.”